Waste to energy: Bangladesh to lay foundation for first incineration plant in July

The government is set to begin construction of its first incineration plant to generate electricity from waste on July 20 amid an ongoing power crisis.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will lay the foundation stone at Amin Bazar, said Local Government and Rural Development Minister Tazul Islam.

On Thursday, the ministry held a preparatory meeting on initiating the construction of the ‘waste-to-energy incineration plant’ at Dhaka North City Corporation's Amin Bazar landfill.

Bangladesh is producing a lot of waste but those are never put to use, according to Tazul. So, the government has opted for the waste-to-energy route, he said.

The Local Government Division, Power Development Board and Dhaka North City Corporation signed a contract with the China Machinery Engineering Corporation in 2021 for a project to generate power from waste. The company will be given 30 acres of land to implement the project under the contract.

The government has already acquired the land in Amin Bazar at a cost of Tk 3.36 billion, and will supply 3,000 tonnes of waste as raw materials daily after the project sets off, the minister said.

However, the government has made no financial investment in the project. The Power Division will directly purchase the electricity generated by the plant.

The government expects the plant to produce 42.5 MW of electricity per day, which will be cheaper than the electricity generated using diesel. The output is likely to be added to the national grid in October 2025.

The prime minister has already authorised the construction of similar waste-to-energy plants in Chattogram, Gazipur, and Narayanganj as well, the minister said.

“We've signed a contract with the Chinese company to supply 3,000 tonnes of waste per day and we’re bound to pay a fine of $3,000 if we fail to do so. At the same time, the company will pay the same amount in fines if they fail to supply the pre-determined power output,” said DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam.

Currently, at least 3,500 tonnes of mixed waste are produced in the DNCC area, Atiqul said. It will be supplied to the plant after filtering out construction materials, and human and animal waste.

“We’ll purchase the electricity generated from waste and the price will be around Tk 21. It will be subsidised by the government,”’ said State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid.